A trip to Fopp yielded the usual grab bag of odds and sods. So right now the Cocteau Twins are enlivening the day with their rather sublime airiness. Also good and in rotation: Gnarls Barkley, The Odd Couple, Kill Bill Vol 1 (Charlie Feathers whoa!) and a 1999 compilation Camelspotting with some great tracks, all by people I have never heard of, like the opener by Amr Diab. All this for a princely Â£23.

Costello - King of America with Channel 4 news, and sounds of cooking next door, superimposed. I wanted to listen to Punch the Clock, but it's down in the van and I can't be hacked to get it. Pour the wine, it's the weekend ker koo ker choo !

Right now I am listening to the album Olufe-Mi by Demola Adepoju, previously discussed somewhere in this forum in connection with whether he plays pedal or lap steel guitar. He was King Sunny Ade's steel player. I love early 1980s juju music, probably even more than soukous. I wish there was more of it available. This was a bootleg download. I've never seen a physical copy of it on vinyl or heard of him in any other context. Beautiful music.

Earlier, I listened to CubAfrica from Manu Dibango and Cuarteto Patria, one of my favourite Manu Dibango albums and played today, the solstice, in the hopes of making the sun come out 'cos it's a very sunny piece of music making â€” and our weather here has been mostly very cloudy for weeks. Following that, I listened to the compilation Samba Soul 70!, bacially just what it says, Brazilian samba soul from the 1970s and one of the better Brazilian compilations around in my humble . . . .

Nice. Pictures?
Currently La Sulamiyya Sufi songs from Tunis. Long-form chant with typically a quick dab of bendir at the end. Sonorous interlocking voices combine to create irresistable waves of sound. Very powerful, but you need to be open to it.

Oh, a word of introduction is in order: I have been lurking for a good while reading the discussions and reviews here, and discovering a good number of delights through them. My own musical interests are scattered far and wide - from the punk and reggae roots of my youth to my deeper Finnish and Scandinavian roots, African, medieval and what not.
More later, in a more coherent way.

Okay, I'll be honest and answer this now despite not having the coolest soundtrack - Dido's No Angel. In fairness, I think Dido is underrated by music snobs quick to dismiss her as bland, she's actually an impressive songwriter with a great ear for melody and interestingly textured arrangements.